What names mean king?
Rex means "king" in Latin. Malik means "king" in one Arabic form; another Arabic name meaning "owner" can share this spelling.
Explore the names below and follow any name to its full history.
Raj Sanskrit · king, ruler
Nana Akan · chief, king, queen, or elder; an honorific and given name across Akan society, also used for "grandparent"
Vuong Vietnamese · king, monarch; written Vương
Melvin Irish · chief, leader
Vasily Russian · royal, kingly
Min Burmese · king, ruler (မင်း); the royal word of the old Burmese court, now a favorite opener in modern boys' names like Min Khant and Min Thant
Kuhio Hawaiian · royal, prince
Basil Greek · kingly, royal
Lani Hawaiian · sky, heaven, royal
Kaan Turkish · ruler, khan
Kendrick Welsh · traditionally "chief, high ruler"
Kwan Cantonese · ruler or lord; a person of cultivated character (君)
Queen English · queen, royal woman
Durai Tamil · chief, leader (Tamil)
Leroy French · French, 'the king'
Gamini Sinhala · chief, leader, from Pali gamani; a name borne by Dutugamunu, the Sri Lankan king of the second century BCE
Rex Latin · means 'king'
Datu Filipino · chief, leader (pre-colonial title-name)
Amory Germanic · love-power, love-ruler; a name genuinely rooted in the Old French/Germanic "love" element
Royal English · from the word "royal"
King English · from the title/word "king"
Lakan Filipino · lord, chief (pre-colonial Tagalog title-name)
Henri French · ruler of the household
Ríona Irish · queenly (from rí, king)
Leeroy French · a spelling variant of Leroy, French le roi, the king
Roy Scottish · anglicized form of the Gaelic Ruadh, 'red', once a nickname for red hair; long associated with French roi, 'king'
Malik Arabic · king; a widely loved classic across Black American generations
Royalty French · word name meaning 'royal rank, kingship', from Old French roialte
Walter Germanic · ruler of the army
Torin Irish · traditionally "chief"
Derek Germanic · ruler of the people
Waldemar German · famous ruler; genuinely documented among German-Brazilian men in the southern colonies
Roderick Germanic · famous ruler
Rodrigo Spanish · famous ruler
Vladimir Russian · famous ruler
Rey Spanish · king (from Latin rex)
Don Scottish · short for Donald, 'world ruler'
Renaud French · well-advised ruler
Elroy French · From Old French le roi, the king, with the Spanish article el; a genuine royal-title name.
Isha Sanskrit · goddess, ruler (short and phonetic; an easy crossover pick)
Khari African · believed to mean kingly, royal in Swahili
Harald Norse · army ruler; famously borne by King Harald V of Norway; famously borne by Harald Fairhair, Norway's first king
Harold Germanic · army ruler
Hoang Vietnamese · royal, yellow (a common surname used as a given name)
Donald Scottish · world ruler
Alaric Germanic · ruler of all (ala 'all' + ric 'ruler'); borne by the Visigothic king who sacked Rome in 410 AD
Shahzad Urdu · prince, son of the king (Persian); pure Persianate court vocabulary carried into Urdu, the same register that gives shahzadi for princess; a fathers'-generation classic more than a 2020s pick
Suresh Sanskrit · ruler of the gods; a common first-generation immigrant classic
Shahin Persian · royal falcon (from shah, 'king')
Kennedy Irish · from Irish surname Ó Cinnéidigh and the byname Cennétig, possibly "armoured head" or "misshapen head"
Obed Hebrew · 'serving, servant', biblical (grandfather of King David)
Theodoric Germanic · ruler of the people (theud 'people' + ric 'ruler'); the Ostrogothic warrior-king who conquered Italy
Naresh Telugu · lord of men, a king (Sanskrit nara + isha); another 1960s-80s -esh cohort classic, familiar from the veteran actor Naresh
Kingston English · place name, "king's settlement"
Ronald Scandinavian · ruler's counselor
Enrico Italian · ruler of the home (heim 'home' + ric 'ruler'); famously borne by Enrico Fermi, the physicist who led the team that built the first nuclear reactor
Kaiulani Hawaiian · traditionally glossed 'the royal one, the highest point'; famously borne by Princess Kaʻiulani, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Harris English · son of Harry (Henry), home ruler
Vladyslav Ukrainian · ruler of glory
Emry Welsh · variant of Emrys/Emery, traditionally 'ruler'
Roald Old Norse · Old Norse for famous ruler; famously borne by Roald Amundsen, the first person to reach the South Pole.
Aubrey Germanic · from Alberic, "elf ruler"; originally masculine, now mostly feminine
Malek Arabic · variant of Malik, traditionally 'king'
Prasenjit Bengali · "a king of the epics"; from Prasenajit, a historical king of Kosala in the 6th century BCE and a contemporary and patron of the Buddha
Heinrich German · home ruler
Ka'iulani Hawaiian · the royal sacred one
Richard Germanic · brave ruler
Ricardo Spanish · brave ruler
Erica Scandinavian · ever ruler; also the name of the heather plant
Isolde Germanic · uncertain, possibly "ice ruler"; the legendary tragic lover of Tristan
Monty English · mountain of the ruler; short for Montgomery
Adaeze Igbo · princess, daughter of the king (Igbo)
Aric Modern American · A respelling of Eric, Old Norse, ever-ruler or sole ruler.
Wassily Russian, from Greek · Russian form of Basil, from Greek basileus, king; famously borne by Wassily Kandinsky, often credited with painting the first fully abstract works.
Donnie Scottish · diminutive of Donald, world ruler
Rodrick Germanic · A simplified spelling of Roderick, from Old German hruod, fame, and ric, ruler; borne by the last Visigothic king of Spain.
Fredric Germanic · A variant spelling of Frederick, from Germanic frid, peace, and ric, ruler: peaceful ruler.
Vasilisa Russian · royal, queenly (folk-tale heroine, Vasilisa the Beautiful)
Kinsley English · from a surname and place name, "clearing belonging to Cyne" (Old English Cyne, a short form of royal cyne- names)
Rajwinder Punjabi · king joined with Indra's name, regal and martial imagery (raj + inder)
Fred Germanic · short for Frederick, 'peaceful ruler'
Ron Scandinavian · short form of Ronald, 'ruler's counsel'
Rickey Germanic · nickname for Richard, brave ruler
Rory Irish · red king
Niall Irish · champion, cloud (legendary High King Niall of the Nine Hostages)
Landry French · from Germanic Landric, 'ruler of the land'
Harriet Germanic · feminine form of Harry/Henry, meaning 'home ruler'
Hank Germanic · pet form of Henry, "home ruler"
Dickie Germanic · a diminutive nickname of Richard, from Germanic ric, ruler, and hard, brave, strong; part of the medieval rhyming-nickname tradition
Frederika Germanic · peaceful ruler; famously borne by Queen Frederica of the Hellenes, consort of Greece's King Paul
Which of these fits YOUR family? →